New Trail
by aniuwolfe
Summary: Life after the defeat of the Red Death is colorful and new for every viking in Berk. But there is a threat to the new dragon-inhabited village as ships are spotted on the horizon. Spoilers for movie, Multi-chapter fic.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, time for some How To Train Your Dragon fanfiction! This will be a multi chapter fic, and I already have most of it planned out. I hope you like the first chapter!

Bluebell was created by Enchantable and full credit goes to her for the dragon's name, namesake, and personality. Check out her fics, as they are both awesome!

How To Train Your Dragon does not belong to me.

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Hiccup's first conscious thought was that he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. He squinted against the light that was streaming into the windows of his room and simply lay there, soaking in everything. The most potent, of course, was the steady throbbing of his leg. He moved it and a twinge ran up his calf. He frowned as he stared at the ceiling.

It had been a little over a month since he had awoken after the battle with the Green Death. Even though the Healer said that the injury was healing pretty well, and Gobber himself said he was healing faster than he had expected, it was little consolation. Every day it was odd to wake up and look down at a complex metal foot rather than a normal flesh one. But he was getting used to it. At least it wasn't a peg leg. A familiar rush of gratitude ran through him at the thought. Gobber had insisted that his foot be made specifically to fit Toothless' saddle, and it worked wonderfully. Gobber had told him that it wasn't hard. He had looked at his designs for Toothless' saddle and replicated the similar contraption so it would fit with the stirrup. He remade the stirrup slightly as well, but the saddle had gone unchanged because of it. And Hiccup would always be grateful.

To be honest, that was what had worried him most when he had awoken to the strange sight. Would he be able to fly with Toothless again? But he needn't be worried.

Speaking of the Night Fury…

He sat up slowly, looking around the room for the familiar black form. When all he saw was the wood that made up the floor of his room, he ran a hand through his chestnut bangs and slid out of bed. He looked over at the stool next to his bed where the familiar prosthetic sat, shining in the sun. He set his one foot on the floor and looked at the odd stump, then looked back at the prosthetic. It was a weird sight, but not necessarily a bad one.

He grabbed the thing and put it on quickly, putting some cloth underneath the still slightly tender stump for padding. After less than a minute he was standing and rubbing his eyes. He leaned to the left and put more weight on his foot, delighting in the only minor pain that he felt. He was just about healed.

He went down the steps rather quickly and looked around in the main room, not really expecting to see his father but checking anyway. The room was darker than his own room, seeing as his room had more windows. The deep brown wood gave the room an old feel, though the actual room had been rebuilt only three months ago. Remember: old village, new buildings.

He opened the door slowly, not wanting to catch too much attention. It was the strangest thing – it was only a few months ago when he had wanted nothing more than to get some positive attention for a change. Now half the time he snuck around, avoiding all of the attention he was getting now. It wasn't that he disliked it or anything, but sometimes he liked being alone. Or with Toothless. Those two were interchangeable, seeing as he was rarely ever alone.

And not all of the attention was from Berk's human residents. For some reason Hiccup could not fathom, Terrors loved him. The minute they spotted him, he had three dogging his footsteps and another two flying around his head, chirruping and squawking like boisterous parrots. Toothless, needless to say, did not like how much attention Hiccup was getting from other dragons; the Night Fury made it clear that, according to him, Hiccup was his property.

He looked around, then quickly loped around to the backside of his and his father's house before walking over to the shoreline. He hadn't gotten more than ten feet before he heard his name being called. He turned, smiling politely as Snotlout ran towards him. He saw Snotlout's Nightmare off a ways, watching the two of them with one golden eye.

"Hey! I was wondering if you and Toothy wanted to help us practice flying?" he said, looking back at his Nightmare.

Hiccup wondered what Toothless would do if he ever heard Snotlout call him 'Toothy'.

"Maybe later? I was hoping to find Astrid, actually. Do you know where she is?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, lovebirds. She's over on the western bank practicing loops. Her Nadder keeps throwing her off. It's pretty funny, actually," he said with a chuckle. He turned around again, eyeing his dragon with a smile. Hiccup couldn't help but grin. Snotlout had always been a jerk before. But now…

Said boy turned back to hiccup. "Well, we're off. Gonna try fishing. See ya later!" he said, then with a wave, ran back to where his red and black dragon was sitting amiably. Hiccup watched him go with a small smile before he turned to the western bank, where he could see a blue sheen flying above the water. It wouldn't take more than ten minutes or so to walk over there.

He couldn't help but wonder where Toothless was. His dragon was rarely ever far away from him; in fact, the Night Fury was almost never out of eyesight. Hiccup didn't mind so much, however. He probably wanted to stretch his legs, seeing as he couldn't fly without Hiccup.

In a short time he was walking up the western bank, avoiding the small pebbles on the rocky shoreline. The western side did not have a beach, but it was rather a steep rocky cliff facing the ocean. He walked slowly up a small hill and saw the familiar black back of his best friend. Toothless immediately turned his head, surely smelling his rider, and turned and bounded towards him, tail low and swaying from side to side. Hiccup grinned and scratched behind his ear as his dragon reached him, delighting in Toothless' blissful expression.

He heard a shout of frustration, however, followed by a splash. He looked up with a jolt of nervousness, but Toothless merely snorted and rolled his eyes. Hiccup gave the black dragon a curious look, but Toothless responded by looking over at the rocky bank. A flash of blue and brown greeted his eyes as a bright blue dragon, a Deadly Nadder, flew over the bank and landed gracefully, a very displeased looking Astrid atop its back. The blonde Viking was muttering something angrily and the moment her dragon's feet touched the ground she slid from its back, avoiding those dangerous spikes framing its head. She was dripping wet, and her furred boots were making a squelching sound as she stomped away from the blue dragon.

Toothless gave a guttural sound that Hiccup could only interpret as a chuckle. Astrid turned her bright eyes over to Toothless with a glare. Then she looked up at Hiccup.

"He's been laughing at me all morning!" She said angrily, stomping her foot in a display that was very un-Astrid like. She turned with a scowl and looked at her Nadder, which was busy licking the scales in between its claws. She rubbed her wet bangs out of her face quickly.

Ever since Hiccup had awoken, he and Astrid had been dancing around the kiss that she had given him. They didn't know if they were together or not, and neither of them brought it up. They were often together, but it was an unspoken companionship. He knew he was afraid of commitment, as Vikings usually marry their first girlfriend, and he suspected Astrid felt the same way.

"Good morning to you too," Hiccup said with a laugh. Astrid's annoyed gaze shot to him.

"It's hardly morning. It can't be earlier than ten or so."

"Well sorry that I don't 'rise with the dawn' like you do," he replied. Astrid frowned but he could see amusement in her eyes. She glanced over at Toothless, who was staring lazily at the clouds, and scoffed.

"He's been sitting here, watching me fly," Astrid said. "I was surprised when he followed me."

"I was surprised when I woke up and he wasn't in my room," Hiccup said with a nod. Toothless rubbed his nose on Hiccup's elbow and nudged it upward, as if reminding him that he still loved him. "Yeah yeah, I know buddy," Hiccup said with a laugh and patted his nose. Hiccup turned his gaze back to Astrid.

"What had you and your Nadder been trying to do?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"Loops," she said shortly. She inhaled, then exhaled. They stood there in silence for a few moments, Astrid staring at her dragon and Hiccup staring at the grass, before Hiccup opened his mouth.

"Would you like me to show you?" he said, watching his words. He knew she wouldn't accept help from anyone but him, and even then it was only with something to do with dragons. And even then, her stubbornness compelled her to immediately refuse. She was a Viking, after all. She seemed to mull over the words before nodding once.

"I'd like that," she said, tone a bit softer. Hiccup smiled, glad she wasn't mad.

"We'll have to head back over to the storage shed," Hiccup said. "We don't have our riding gear."

"I'll go, it'll be much faster," she said with a nod. Hiccup nodded, feeling slightly put out. Astrid seemed to have seen his expression falter, for she looked away quickly, expression guilty. She patted her Nadder's neck and they lifted into the air quickly.

Hiccup knew it hadn't been a dig at his lost foot or at Toothless' missing fin, but it was the truth. Without a saddle he and Toothless couldn't fly. It was hard to be reminded of the fact. Toothless seemed equally displeased at the comment, because he snorted and sat back on his haunches with a scowl. Hiccup patted his head and traced his forehead spikes, his touch light. "She didn't mean it like that, buddy," he said. Hiccup sat in the grass and Toothless laid down next to him and sat his head in Hiccup's lap heavily. Hiccup scratched at his scaly muzzle, earning a deep rumbling purr out of his draconic friend. Toothless' eyes were half-lidded as he continued to purr contentedly, and Hiccup smiled down at him. They both sat in a comfortable silence that was only perforated by the dragon's purrs for the few minutes it took for Astrid to return with Hiccup's and Toothless' riding gear. Both stood as the blue dragon landed lightly, Toothless' saddle propped in between two spikes behind Astrid and Hiccup's own riding vest held before her.

Her Nadder crouched elegantly and Astrid slid off of its back before turning to Toothless and Hiccup. She handed the gear to Hiccup without a word, but he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek. She jumped and looked over at him, eyes wide, but he smiled genially at her, letting her know she hadn't hurt his feelings. She gave him a relieved look, getting the message. Hiccup shifted his attention to Toothless and put on his saddle with ease, trying his hardest not to grin like an idiot. He put on his own vest, clipped the leather strap on the saddle to his vest, then jumped into the saddle, metal foot clicking into place in the handmade stirrup with ease. Toothless shifted beneath him, clearly glad to have his rider back. He looked over at Astrid, who was climbing up her Nadder's side and into her own saddle. Toothless walked over to the Nadder's side and waited. Once Astrid was settled in her saddle, she leaned forward and patted her Nadder's neck.

"Alright Bluebell, let's show them what we can do," Astrid said to the Nadder beneath her. Hiccup choked back a laugh.

"Bluebell?" he asked, swallowing his incredulity. He expected her to shoot him a glare, but he was shocked to see a small blush arise on her cheeks. She avoided his gaze as she spoke.

"Well, she's blue, and pretty, and Bluebells are my favorite flower," she said, tone hard as though the topic was trivial, though the blush said otherwise. Hiccup's eyebrows rose. He hadn't known Astrid had a favorite flower. It seemed so…feminine. Hiccup smiled.

"Cool," he said. Astrid still refused to look at him, but she smiled lighty.

Toothless, who was clearly done listening to all of the talking, shot his wings out and bounded forward with a snort. He jumped in the air fluidity that belonged to only a Night Fury and did a series of complex turns and flips, clearly ecstatic. Hiccup couldn't resist a laugh of happiness. His head felt light, and his metal foot twitched, guiding Toothless' fin with ease. The wind rushed through his hair and over his face, and he felt happier than he had in days. Winter was fast approaching and the wind had a small bite to it, but it didn't matter. Toothless let out a small stream of fire, warming Hiccup's face as they spun and banked low to the sea. He was finally home.

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First chapter done! Reviews are loved, as I love constructive criticism.

I have a request of my reviewers, however. Would y'all like to help me think of names for everyone's dragons? Snotlout's Nightmare, Fishleg's Gronckle, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut's Zippleback needs two names – one for each head. I have names in mind, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to help think of any as well. :D


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much to all of my reviewers!

In case you're confused, I just wanted to let you know that the pov is going to alternate with each chapter. And every fifth chapter will be a surprise.

Just to warn you though, the chapters from Astrid's point of view are probably going to be much shorter than the ones from Hiccup's. And hopefully my chapters will increase in length over time, once school calms down a bit. this chapter is painfully short, I know, and I'm working on making them longer.

All credit for Bluebell goes to Enchantable. How To Train your Dragon does not belong to me.

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It just wasn't fair.

Astrid watched as Toothless leaped forward and rushed into the air, lithe as a cat. She watched as the two became one with the air, a sight she never completely got used to. She watched, and she sighed. Hiccup and Toothless belonged to one another. It was just the way it was. The two were never completely happy unless they were together, and that feeling was multiplied by ten when they were flying together. No matter how hard she had fallen for Hiccup, she knew Hiccup's heart belonged to the sky, and to Toothless, before it belonged to her.

She huffed. Now wasn't the time to think about things like that. Now was the time to show the two showoffs that she and her dragon could fly too. She may be the weaker flier, but she'd rather eat her own foot than admit it.

"C'mon, Bluebell, let's go!" she said, and the Nadder, for once, seemed urgent to obey. The bright blue dragon shot into the sky, not as fast but just as graceful as Toothless had. Astrid watched Toothless look back at them, then ease himself up until he was flying calmly and horizontally above the gleaming blue water. Astrid looked to Hiccup, who was sitting calmly on Toothless' back, looking up at the clouds. He turned to her with a smile and she smiled back, before bringing Bluebell as close as she could to him without knocking hers and Toothless' wings together.

"So. Flips?" She asked. Hiccup nodded.

"Not much to it," he said back; there wasn't much need to shout, since both dragons were flying slow enough for them to be heard easily enough. A light tug on Toothless' saddle, and they did a neat loop. Hiccup and Toothless were so comfortable with doing such things it made Astrid's expression darken with mild jealously, but she covered the emotion before it showed. "She has to do it fast enough for you to stay in the saddle, I think that's the problem." He nodded, indicating her to show him a flip. Astrid nodded back, then clenched her fists against the reins. She could do this. Bluebell just had to cooperate.

She tugged, and Bluebell turned upward in a wider loop than Toothless had. But she paused in midair, and Astrid felt herself slide out of the saddle. With a shout of indignation she fell from her dragon, but quickly felt a paw grab her arm. She looked up at Toothless, who flew over her still-flying Nadder and deposited her in the saddle deftly. Astrid grasped the reins and sighed down at Bluebell. "Why does this keep happening?" she asked, mostly to herself. She was surprised when Hiccup replied.

"I actually think I know why," he said over the wind. He gave her a sort of amused apologetic look. "She pauses because, well, she's staring at herself in the water."

Astrid gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, unfortunately," he said. "I guess you should just avoid doing loops with her. She probably won't stop."

Astrid sighed. Of course she had to get the Nadder than was obsessed at looking at herself. She wasn't really surprised though. Bluebell clearly loved to look her best. She was always preening and grooming herself, after all.

"Well, at least I know," she said.

Toothless flew over Bluebell, and made a deep rumbling sound. Bluebell clearly didn't appreciate it, for she tensed beneath Astrid and flew upward quickly, forcing Hiccup to change directory before she skewered Toothless on the horns on her nose and head. Toothless growled and swerved sharply, and Hiccup gave him a look of surprise. Astrid herself didn't quite know what was going on either. She gave Hiccup a questioning look, but Hiccup shrugged. "I dunno what's with him," he said.

Astrid got an idea. "You want to try fishing?" she said with a smirk. Hiccup smiled and nodded. She suspected he had fished before on Toothless, but he was humoring her. She found she didn't mind. She liked sharing his sky with him.

"I don't know how Nadders fish, but I know Toothless fishes like a bird. Feet and mouth," he said. So he had been fishing on his back. Not surprising. Astrid nodded. That was probably how Bluebell fished as well. Her back legs were so huge, he could easily fly down and grab fish with them.

"Fish, Bluebell?" she said, scratching her behind one of her horns. She flew downwards, towards the water, and Toothless followed. Okay, this is looking good, thought Astrid. She was glad that the dragons understood human speech far better than she had initially thought. Well, that wasn't saying much. For all of her life previous to the past month or so, she had thought that dragons were overall mindless creatures. Turns out they could understand speech far better than anyone ever could have thought. It was helpful and embarrassing at the same time. Helpful, for obvious reasons. But it was embarrassing because she felt someone should have noticed just how intelligent they were. Seven generations had gone by before Hiccup realized what seemed to be an obvious fact now. Shows how smart Vikings are.

Bluebell's claws dragged along the tips of the small waves, and Astrid grinned. Piece of cake. Then, without warning, Bluebell vaulted forward and plummeted into the ocean.

Astrid exhaled sharply, the water nearly pushing her out of the saddle. It was only a second before she was above water again, a large fish wiggling fruitlessly in Bluebell's jaws. Astrid shivered and gave a noise of indignation. "What was THAT?" She shouted at her dragon. "A warning next time, please?!"

She heard a snort, then outright laughter. She turned wide eyes to Hiccup, who was leaning over in Toothless' saddle, laughing hysterically. She glared at him. "NOT funny!" she shouted, pointing an accusatory finger. He only laughed harder. Apparently Toothless interpreted his laughter as thinking that it looked fun, or that he felt a small inkling to defend Astrid's pride, but he dove forward and, like a bullet, shot straight down into the water. A second or two later he came up, but he and Hiccup both realized a moment too late that it had not been a terribly good idea. His fin wobbled, and the moment he broke through the water he flapped a few times, then fell back into it. Hiccup gasped as he was thrown back from the saddle, his foot being the only thing keeping him in it. The laughter was gone from his face, and the annoyance was gone from Astrid's.

"I thought his fin had metal rods in it!" she shouted down.

"Apparently they're not good enough," he said. "It's pretty thin leather. Keeps it light." Astrid flew down, and she could see his teeth chattering. He didn't look panicked, just miffed. Toothless clearly did not find his dive funny anymore either. He kept shaking his head and suddenly he tried to vault out of the water, jerking Hiccup back again as the water resisted. Seconds later and he fell back in again.

"C-could you not do that again, buddy?" Hiccup asked, leaning in closer to Toothless to try and get some warmth back. Toothless made a noise of regret and folded his wings, kicking to stay afloat.

Astrid began to grown nervous. They were about two miles away from shore, and Toothless wouldn't be able to swim that far. Hiccup shook his head, his wet bangs flying out of his face as he looked up at Astrid with embarrassment. "Hey, I have an idea," she said. "Do you think Bluebell could grab onto the sides of Toothless' saddle with her hind claws and lift him up?" she asked.

Hiccup looked up at Bluebell's long claws and nodded. "Worth a s-shot," he said through a bout of shivers. Toothless' eyes narrowed as the blue dragon flew down and reached for his saddle, but Hiccup patted him and whispered words of reassurance. Bluebell grabbed it deftly and slowly began to lift, wings flapping hard. Toothless flapped as well, helping to ease some of the weight off of Bluebell. Astrid whispered words of praise to her, more than pleased that she was being so helpful. Toothless looked extremely unhappy, but Hiccup kept him calm. He rotated and flapped the false fin quickly, flicks of water flying off. Within a couple of minutes, and about fifty feet higher, Toothless was released. He gave a few quick flaps, and although the control wasn't completely back, he did not fall. They just couldn't make any quick movements. Bluebell's breathing was labored and her tail was puffed out slightly, as though she felt doing such work was an embarrassment and was beneath her. Toothless looked more than hassled as well, but Hiccup quickly reminded him that he was the one that shot into the water. "He doesn't fish like that, in case you were wondering," he said quickly with a shaky laugh. Astrid could see him shaking, and her brows drew together in worry. Days before winter was not a good time to get sick.

Toothless flapped in midair for a minute or two, then suddenly, something caught his attention. His ears swiveled forward, his eyes became wide, and his slanted pupils narrowed into sharp slivers. Without warning he turned sharply and flew upward, flying above the clouds. Astrid followed, becoming alarmed. What was going on? Bluebell let out a squawk as she tailed Toothless, clearly sensing what was agitating him as well. Astrid knew it must be important, because she knew that it got colder then higher it got and both Toothless and Hiccup would be cold, the rider more so, and Toothless would never endanger or bring any discomfort to Hiccup unless he felt it was absolutely necessary. But he flew above the clouds, then stared down with a hiss. Hiccup squinted down at the approaching winter mist that layered the sea and looked at and let out a gasp. Astrid followed the two's gaze and gasped.

There were ships. Five of them. Sailing straight for Berk.

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As always, reviews are appreciated, as I love constructive criticism!


	3. Chapter 3

As I said in the previous chapter, I'm really hoping my chapters will steadily get longer, but I can't promise anything. I'll get the chapters out quickly, they just aren't going to be extremely long.

All credit for Bluebell goes to Enchantable. She was kind enough to give me PERMISSION to use her, and unless you have gotten permission from Enchantable to use Bluebell, do not do so. It's rude and unfair.

How To Train your Dragon does not belong to me.

The first half of this chapter is a bit angry, because I was in a bad mood when I wrote it; the last portion was written when I was exceedingly depressed and close to tears, so Hiccup may be a bit out of character. Overall, a very emotional chapter for me. I'm sorry in advance.

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Hiccup swallowed hard, though his mouth was dry. His stomach did a back flip and he urged Toothless up, concealing him even more in the clouds. His mind was reeling, hundreds of panicked thoughts flying through his head. What was going on? He turned his panicked gaze to Astrid, who was staring down with wide eyes as well.

Hiccup couldn't speak. He opened his mouth to try to, but he shivered and hunched closer to Toothless, partially for warmth but mostly for comfort. He knew that there were other Vikings around, and they had to learn about the defeat of the humongous dragon on that island, but Berk had kept the fact that they had befriended dragons a very close secret. No one had ever imagined that another tribe would ever come to them. Why were they even coming? Where were they from? A group of ships sailing so close to the start of winter meant that they were sailing for something of vast importance. Hiccup couldn't see the sails to determine their tribe, and a part of him didn't want to. For all of this time, their little village had been the center of Hiccup's world. He had forgotten that there was indeed life outside of Berk. Outside of dragons.

His thoughts darted around like this for what felt like ages, and every time they came back to one thing: Toothless. Another Viking tribe wouldn't understand. They couldn't. They would see the dragons and kill them on sight. What were they going to do? Hiccup couldn't – _wouldn't – _put Toothless in any kind of danger like that. And the dragons were just starting to get comfortable in Berk, and now another tribe was coming?

_What were they going to do?!_

Astrid spoke first.

"We need to tell your father." Her voice had that steely calm tone, but he heard the slightest quiver. Or many he imagined it. He couldn't tell. The steady beat of Toothless' wings beneath him was surprisingly reassuring. Hiccup swallowed again and nodded. His father would know what to do.

"Okay, c'mon buddy…"Hiccup said quietly, as though the ships a hundred feet below would hear him if he spoke above a whisper. Toothless was rumbling, fueling on his rider's nerves and knowing that was beneath them bode ill. They turned around and flew in a wide circle so the ships wouldn't see them. He wasn't worried about Bluebell, since she was bright blue and the ships probably wouldn't have seen her unless they were looking – they probably were looking though – since her scales were the same light blue as the sky behind her. Toothless, on the other hand, who was so good at vanishing at night, stuck out like a sore thumb in the day for obvious reasons. So Hiccup flew higher, not wanting to risk them being sighted.

He shook his still wet bangs out of his face again, chilled to the bone. He didn't look at Astrid, and he didn't need to; he knew her well enough to know that she was puzzling over the situation just as he was.

Ten minutes of silent flying and a few wobbles from Toothless due to his drying tail fin saw them approaching Berk. The ships would be there by nightfall, and they needed to hurry to prepare the village for the worst. If only Hiccup knew how to do that. His stomach began to do flips and he was tense in the saddle. Toothless, of course, felt his rider's unease and gave him a low chirrup in assurance. It did little to quell Hiccup's worries. He was afraid for his dragon in ways that he hadn't been since he had seen his father chain him to that ship a month ago. He clenched his teeth and flicked Toothless' fin to the side, forcing him to bank downwards sharply. He was around the back of Berk now, and the ships wouldn't be able to see them, especially since they were shrouded in the cold mist of approaching winter.

He felt Astrid's eyes on him but he didn't care. They came in on their island fast and hard, Toothless nearly clipping his wings on the rocks that were behind the hills of their village. A thud behind him told him that Bluebell's tail had hit one of them. Toothless let out a growl and glided quickly between a few buildings, then headed straight towards the center of the village, where most of the activity was. In seconds they were flying only feet above people, a flash of black and green amongst the rainbow of other dragons. Hiccup heard a few shouts and he heard a whooshing and a light thud, letting him know that Astrid and Bluebell had landed. Toothless' teeth were out and he must have looked as unhappy as Hiccup felt, for the people that looked up at him with smiles found their grins vanishing.

Toothless swerved, wingtip brushing the grass, and landed in the grass in front of Hiccup's house. He didn't know if his father would be at the house or at the main hall, but he hoped he was here. He wanted to talk to his father alone. Hiccup unclipped his foot quickly and stumbled out of the saddle, movements that were once graceful now disturbed by metal and his cold shivers. Toothless nudged him with a rumble of comfort, and Hiccup rubbed his nose. "We'll get this figured out, Toothless," he said, giving a small smile that did little to comfort either of them. Hiccup heard the voices of numerous people jogging up behind them, but he turned away and opened the door to his house. Toothless growled at them and thrashed his tail, letting them know that this did not concern them. Hiccup looked back, eyes dark, then turned and stepped inside.

He inhaled and walked around one of the pillars of the wooden room, looking at the table for his father. He exhaled. He was here. Good.

Stoick the Vast was sitting at the large wooden table that took up a large portion of the main room, a mug of what Hiccup assumed was ale in one hand and another on his forehead as he studied a map of some sort.

"Uhm, hey dad," he said, voice cracking slightly. Stoick turned quickly, eyes narrow but warm as he looked at his son. Despite his misery on the approaching ships, Hiccup couldn't help but feel a bit warmed by the expression. It had taken him years to earn that look from his father. Who would have guessed he earned it by not killing a dragon?

The small rush of happiness quickly dissipated, and Stoick clearly noticed, for his eyes darkened as well. "What's wrong?" he asked, gravelly voice concerned. Hiccup walked closer until he was about three feet in front of his father, mentally frowning at the awkward thud of his false foot against the wooden floor. He could get used to the feel of it, but he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the uneven sound of his footsteps on wood. He drew in a breath.

"Toothless and I were flying with Astrid and her Nadder when we, um, spotted ships," he said, wanting to get the worst out as quickly as possible. He shivered again, even though the inside of the house was comfortably warm. Stoick stared at him for a few seconds, expression unreadable.

"How many?" he asked, after a long pause.

"Five," Hiccup said quickly. Stoick sighed and ran a large hand over his face.

"Of course it wouldn't be kept hidden," he murmured. Hiccup silently agreed.

"I wish it could have," he said, just as quietly. "You don't have any idea why they might be here?" he asked.

Stoick shook his head. "No." He let out a breath through his nose. "Did you see their colors?"

Hiccup shook his head. "We were too high up, trying to stay hidden." Stoick nodded once then appeared lost in thought. Hiccup found the whole encounter surprisingly surreal. Not seeing the ships, but speaking to his father like this. Like he was an esteemed messenger. It felt nice, helping the village leader like this. All his life he had been told by everyone that he was only an inconvenience to his father. It was about time he showed he could be useful.

"They'll be here by nightfall," Hiccup added. "I hope they don't expect a raid," he said with a chuckle that sounded hollow. By raid of course he meant a dragon attack.

Stoick nodded, eyes narrowed. "You haven't told the village?"

"I came straight here. I don't know what Astrid has said, but I doubt she'll say anything." That's your job, dad, Hiccup mentally added. Stoick gave another short nod. Hiccup waited patiently for his father to come to a reasonable conclusion. Rushing something like this, he knew, would be a mistake. But he was itching to do something. He felt like going out there and screaming for the dragons to go and hide.

"We need to find out what they want and where they're from," Stoick said. "Until we know that, we can't do anything but welcome them here."

Hiccup stared, wide-eyed. Had he heard him right? "Umm, what?" Hiccup couldn't help but spit out. "We can't just wait for them to get here. They're most likely like how we were a few months ago, dad! They'll come, they'll see the dragons, and they'll attack!" he said, voice rising unintentionally. Stoick seemed unphased by his son's growing volume. Hiccup ran shaking hands through his hair and clenched his teeth. "We can't just do nothing!" he shouted.

A loud thud followed by harsh scraping echoed through the room and suddenly Toothless was next to Hiccup, snarling. Hiccup placed a quick hand on his nose and pushed him closer to the floor, trying to calm him. He muttered words of comfort, but couldn't do much to quell the dragon's anger when his own annoyance was alive and rearing. Hiccup glared at the floor as he slowly calmed the Night Fury, and all the while Stoick simply watched, eyes narrow. Toothless was glaring at the leader with slitted pupils, and Stoick glared back.

"We can't run from this, Hiccup," he said, voice not raised but Hiccup was shaken as though his father had just screamed at him. Hiccup opened his mouth to argue, but Stoick raised one hand, cutting him off. "We have to confront the problem. And I doubt the dragons will willingly hide from this. Try sending your beast away," he said, nodding at Toothless. Steam was blown from enlarged nostrils as Toothless scoffed at the very thought. Hiccup scowled.

"I still think-"

"It's not your place to think, Hiccup!" he said, voice finally rising. Hiccup shut his mouth, though his scowl did not lessen. "This is my village. I decide what is right for us. It will be your place to make these calls in the future, but right now, it's mine. And right now, I'm saying we will confront this."

The finality of the words made Hiccup step back a step, hand pressed against the back of Toothless' neck. He watched his father through cold hazel eyes and turned away.

"Fine."

He barely registered walking out of the house. But suddenly the sun was in his eyes and Toothless was next to him, body pressed as close as it possibly could without knocking Hiccup over. He stopped walking, fists clenched at his sides as he glared down at the grass. He raised his gaze and looked down the hill and towards the rest of the village. The Nadders camped out on the roofs, chirruping at one another, the Nightmares wandering around and knocking the sheep over with their tails, the Zipplebacks nipping at each other while one head tossed a fish in the air and another caught it, and the Terrors flying around and playing some form of tag, their small twittering barely audible. The dragons all sparkled in the sunlight, as though they had been there all along. And the thought of them being gone, one by one…

Hiccup gave a strangled sob and fell to his knees in the grass, clutching Toothless' head to his chest. Toothless was silent, a rock for Hiccup's moment of weakness.

Hiccup didn't know whether he wanted to throw something in fury or scream in misery. He didn't know what he was feeling. He didn't know if he was overreacting, or if he was going to feel foolish in an hour…and he didn't care. The ominous fear of losing what he had worked so hard to achieve was the most overwhelming feeling he's ever felt. The thought of these foreigners coming to their shore, their spears and their fury fueling senseless murder…the fear of losing Toothless…

He let out a pathetic wail. He didn't even have the sense to care whether someone saw him at this point. All he wanted was to hold his dragon close. And Toothless stayed, his head pressed into Hiccup's chest, a low rumbling sound coming from deep within him that echoed Hiccup's pain. Hiccup's forehead was pressed to the crown of Toothless' head as he sat, eyes burning with unshed tears.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but it probably wasn't too terribly long, or else they would have attracted attention to themselves. But Hiccup raised his head, then climbed onto Toothless' back, movements shaky. Toothless brought down his wings the second his rider's foot clicked into place and shot into the air. Hiccup barely led. Toothless moved to where he wanted to go, and Hiccup obliged with heartless shifts of his fake foot. He felt numb. Like his world was crashing down around him.

Toothless let out a loud and heart-wrenching shriek as he flew above the village and up into the clouds, letting the world know of his rider's heartbreak.

---

As always, reviews are appreciated, as I love constructive criticism.

And again, I know Hiccup is horribly out of character, but this is me ranting and letting loose this maelstrom of emotion in the only way I can right now, seeing as I'm alone at college.


	4. Chapter 4

In case I didn't say this before, my updates will be sporadic. Being a full-time college student, my workload increases and lessens, resulting in me writing whenever I can. So there will not be a pattern to my updates.

And as another warning, I'm still in my depressed funk, so my characterization will probably still be all sorts of wonky.

All credit for Bluebell goes to Enchantable. She gave me PERMISSION to use her, and unless you have gotten permission from Enchantable to use her, do not do so.

How To Train your Dragon does not belong to me.

---

Astrid stood next to Bluebell, one hand on the horn on her nose and the other on her hip. "I can't tell you anything yet, I'm sorry. Stoick the Vast will speak with the tribe soon, I promise."

A volley of complaints surged towards her, but she deflected them with a stern gaze. Slowly but surely, the Vikings walked away, mumbling. The adults looked more than annoyed that they were being refused information by one so much younger than her, but they couldn't do much to refute her. The only ones that refused to budge were Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs. What a surprise.

"We saw Toothless, Astrid. What's goin' on?" Snotlout asked, acting surprisingly serious. Astrid fixed her glare onto him, but softened the expression.

"I can't say," she said.

"But you and Hiccup looked so hassled when you flew in," Fishlegs said. Ruffnut and Tuffnut both nodded, frowning. Astrid looked away and up at the hill where Toothless and Hiccup had landed to go and talk to the village leader. Stoick the Vast would know what to do.

"Hiccup's speaking to his dad now," she said.

"Oh, enough," Ruffnut said with a snort. "Just tell us!"

Astrid pinned a fierce look on the blonde. "I can't."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut both glared back, but Tuffnut backed down and gave a short nod, though his eyes were averted and he was clearly annoyed. Ruffnut snorted and crossed her arms, glaring at a spot somewhere to the left of Astrid. Fishlegs and Snotlout both were staring up the hill, watching Toothless, who was crouched outside the wooden door. Both boys inhaled soundly and Astrid turned sharply as a loud wooden thud was heard. Toothless was gone and the front door was hanging open.

"Did he go inside?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs nodded, expression fearful and hands clasped in front of him. Astrid followed his gaze as well, looking up the hill. The house was the furthest away from the center of the village, its hill facing the forest. Though it was a large house, it was also a large hill, and details were hard to make out where they were standing. The five of them stood and waited for something to happen.

It took about a minute, but there was commotion, a shout, and then Hiccup and Toothless were outside. The door was slammed, and Hiccup lunged for Toothless in a display of distress.

Astrid suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. They should not be watching this. This was private. It seemed the others thought so too, because they all averted their gazes – well, Ruffnut made Tuffnut avert his gaze, and Snotlout muttered something about needing to fix one of the straps on his boots.

Only a few seconds passed before a black blur caught their gazes and suddenly Toothless and Hiccup were above them, not even ten feet from them.

Then she heard the cry. No, it wasn't even a cry. It was a scream. A scream filled with sorrow and misery. Her eyes were glued to Toothless as she watched him fly into the clouds as fast as his wings could carry him with Hiccup on his back. She felt her heart slowly split in two.

No one should ever have to hear a sound like that.

Astrid lost them to the clouds and she gazed at the expanse of white and blue, her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes wide. The sound continued to ring through her ears long after the call drifted away.

After what seemed like minutes she took her eyes off of the sky and looked around at the others. She couldn't see her own expression but she was sure that theirs mirrored hers. All eyes shone with surprise and a hint of fear. Snotlout was looking away, while the twins were muttering to themselves, but she could see that all of them were bothered to some extent by the behavior of Toothless. She looked down at the grass, refusing to think of what had gone on in the house. She would definitely be talking to Hiccup soon.

"So what do we do now?"

Astrid opened her eyes at Fishlegs' question. He was shifting from foot to foot, blue eyes wide. Snotlout and the twins both fixed curious looks on her as well, clearly wondering the same. Astrid paused, not sure what to do. She knew she couldn't tell them about the ships – that was the leader's place. But how could they help Hiccup without not knowing what had happened? And could they even help? Astrid herself wasn't even sure what had shaken the duo so. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

A hot puff of air hit her arm and she turned her surprised gaze on Bluebell. She'd almost forgotten she was there. Astrid looked to her dragon, who was shifting her wings in what looked like agitation. Astrid gave a small smile.

"We'll go look for them."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut each gave a grin then nodded and scampered off to go retrieve their dragon. Snotlout nodded with a grin as well. "A man with a plan! Well, woman," Snotlout said, then with a cheeky smile ran off as well to go and get his Nightmare. Astrid rolled her eyes. She turned to Fishlegs, who still hadn't moved.

"Are you staying here?" she asked. Bluebell snorted at him.

Fishlegs shook his head quickly. "I'm worried. Hiccup doesn't get upset for no reason," he said. Astrid remembered that when Hiccup was still an outsider – it seemed so long ago – Fishlegs was the only person that gave him the time of day. He was nice while everyone else was cruel. The familiar feeling of shame rose up in her chest but she forced it back down.

"I know. That's why we're going to go and see what's wrong," she said in a matter of fact tone. Fishlegs nodded, but still looked reluctant. Astrid sighed then softened her gaze. "I know you're nervous. I know I am. But we're Vikings. We face things like this head-on," she said. Fishlegs nodded again, looking a bit more empowered.

"I guess so," he said. "I'm not looking forward to finding out why they're so upset though," he said before turning away and jogging into town. Astrid's gaze followed him unit he was out of sight. She looked up at the clouds with another sigh.

"You and me both."

She moved her hand from its comfortable spot on her hip and rubbed Bluebell's snout absent-mindedly. Bluebell made no sounds of enjoyment but did lean in to the touch. It was surprising how unvocal she was compared to Toothless. She had realized a few days ago that she had been almost comparing Bluebell to Toothless since she had flown with the Nadder. She felt bad about it, but it made sense, seeing as Toothless was the first dragon she'd ever actually met. She wasn't counting, of course, the arena dragons. It seemed surreal that the dragons all of them had tried to kill a month ago were now serving as their closest companions. If someone had told Astrid when she was running from the wall-toppling Nadder that she would be riding that same dragon in a few weeks of her own volition, she'd have pointed them in the direction of the nearest cliff and commanded they jump.

Said dragon snorted and snapped at a bug that was flying inches from Astrid's nose, bright eyes constantly rotating to look around. Astrid watched her dragon, whose face was still about a foot from her own, and gazed at her shining scales. She was glad she had decided to name her after her favorite flower. She definitely lived up to a bluebell's beauty. Her light blue scales shone innocently even as ivory horns decorated her head and neck. And her blue and yellow tail hid another secret: deadly spikes that she could fire off at any time. She was a lethal reptile disguised as a beautiful flower. It was an interesting and dangerous combination.

Astrid heard a flapping in the distance and turned her head away from her dragon, who was still staring up at the clouds, and watched as the others flew down to where they were; it only took Snotlout and his dragon five wingbeats to land, seeing as how large he was. The four dismounted their respective dragons, Astrid looking them each over in turn.

Snotlout landed first, his nightmare graceful and smooth. It moved the least of the group, and even after it landed and Snotlout dismounted, his only moved its head slightly to look over at its rider. Snotlout scratched his nose, smiling happily.

The twins were the strangest sight by far. They rode right behind their specific dragon head, a small saddle made to fit snuggly around the thin neck of the Zippleback. Both heads were looking at one another as they landed, one snapping its jaws and the other looking relaxed. Even after her training Astrid could not tell which head was the gas-breather and which was the gas-lighter until they opened their mouths and used their breath.

Fishlegs landed last, his Gronckle's fluttering wings almost comical. The dragon's large head swayed from side to side as it landed and fixed lazy but happy eyes on its rider. Fishlegs took a few seconds to detangle his feet from the stirrups, but once he got untangled he smiled down at his Gronckle, who plopped down in the grass, nose up in the air and eyes half-lidded as he grinned lazily up at the sky.

"You guys name your dragons yet?" Snotlout asked, grabbing one of the long horns of his nightmare with pride.

Tuffnut nodded with a toothy grin. "My head's named Zipper. You know, cause he's a Zippleback, and he's, like, super quick." Snotlout nodded approvingly, as though him voicing his acceptance of the name made it official. Astrid watched with a sort of mild amusement. Snotlout turned to Ruffnut. She returned the look with a frown.

"I haven't named mine, yet."

Her dragon's head snuck around her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek, as if assuring her that it was okay that he didn't have a name, and that she should take her time. She smiled softly at her dragon, an expression Astrid certainly wasn't used to.

"You should totally name him Sparky. Cause, you know, he spits sparks and stuff," Snotlout said, that superior tone still in his voice. His light blue eyes were accented by his thick deep brown eyebrows and his chest was puffed out and his hands on his hips, looking every bit the proud Viking boy he was. Astrid looked over at Snotlout's dragon with incredulity, expecting him to be flaunting his prowess as well; she had always seen Nightmares as the most proud species. Clearly she had not given Nadders as much attention back then, since it was clear they were the vainest and thought the best of themselves. But when Astrid pinned her gaze onto the nightmare she was surprised to see his head low and his gaze calm and unassertive.

Astrid turned to Ruffnut when she spoke. "Uh, my head is the gas-breathing one, idiot," she said with a scowl. But her dragon perked up at the name and was clicking and chirruping in happiness. "You _like_ the name Sparky?" she asked the head, and it gave her a grin, his tongue sticking out of one side of his maw. Ruffnut rolled her eyes and scratched under his chin. "Well alright, whatever, it'syour name."

Astrid watched both heads with amusement. She didn't like the way they looked, but she had to admit that the concept of having two heads was cool. The body of the Zippleback was behind the two twins, and one head was on either side of them,Tuffnut's Zipper nibbling on the base of his tunic and Ruffnut's Sparky was playing with one of her leather-wrapped pigtails. Its two tails were even acting of their own accord, Zipper's tail twitching and swaying from side to side and Sparky's tail curing and tapping the grass lightly.

Astrid turned to Fishlegs, who was standing quietly next to his Gronckle, watching it lick its feet. "Does yours have a name yet?" she asked. Fishlegs looked up at her, then shook his head. He looked down at his Gronckle with a small smile, who looked up at him and burped loudly. Bluebell squawked and jerked back, as though offended by its very presence. Astrid rolled her eyes at her dragon then turned her gaze to Snotlout.

"Any ideas, Mighty One?" she asked Snotlout, tone dripping in sarcasm. Ruffnut and Tuffnut cackled as Snotlout pouted at her before looking over at the Gronckle. He stared at it, hand on his chin with an expression of extreme concentration, though anyone with eyes could see he was milking for all it was worth. After a few seconds he sighed.

"I got nothin'."

Fishlegs shrugged. "I'll come up with something."

Astrid began to grow anxious. She wanted to be with Hiccup, not discussing dragon names. "Sorry Snotlout, but you can tell us more about your Nightmare later, alright? I want to make sure Hiccup's alright."

Snotlout looked disappointed but nodded, knowing that that was best. Astrid looked over at Bluebell and scratched beneath her wide jaw. She made no sound but curled her tail around Astrid's calf in a gesture that was surprisingly tender for the Nadder. Astrid smiled then climbed into her saddle. "We should fly on the Eastern cliffs, seeing as I know he won't be on the Western side." The ships were on the western side, and she knew he was smart enough to stay on the opposite side of their large island. The other looked curious but didn't ask why she knew this, something Astrid was grateful for. She didn't feel like arguing with them again.

Each of them clambered on to the backs of their respective dragons, looking more comfortable than they did when they had flown to battle. None of them looked as natural in the saddle as Hiccup did, and Astrid doubted any of them ever would, but at least they were slowly getting used to riding atop their winged reptiles.

Bluebell let out a small squawk and leaped into the air, arching her body to the East. The others followed, but Astrid didn't look back. The only face she wanted to see what Hiccup's.

---

As always, reviews are appreciated, as I love constructive criticism.


	5. Chapter 5

Whoo! Special chapter! Super short, I know, but there's a reason: this chapter took a long time to get out because of my writing system. I wait to put of the next chapter once I have the chapter after that completely written. So chapter six is done. And it's about quadruple this chapter's length. I'm pretty proud of myself. X'D

All credit for Bluebell goes to Enchantable. She gave me PERMISSION to use her, and unless you have gotten permission from Enchantable to use her, do not do so.

How To Train your Dragon does not belong to me.

---

My eyes pan over the horizon, looking for the most secluded patch of grass I could find for my rider. My insides writhed and I want to tear into whatever I could get my teeth into, but I keep the urge to do so buried deep with all of my other wild tendencies.

It borders on disgusting, now that I think about it. I've been smothering my feral compulsions for the weak and soft human on my back, and I don't care. I was a terrifying Night Fury – the devil-child of Lightning and Death itself. Now what am I? Even I am not so sure. Some of the others say that I am weak. Though they would never dare say it to me because of what I am, I can see their gazes. They could smell me in that valley as they flew over at night, and I could smell their disgust and annoyance smothered in fear and doubt, but I paid them no mind. How could they understand? They would never understand, even though they were now in the village, they would _never _understand what I have with this boy.

Frustration. I, who was once at the top, am now lowered to the standards of the weak ones in the grassy village to the North. But in comparison to whom? Every time I ask myself this, I am reminded that I did what no one else would. I suppose I am the strongest in some sense, seeing as I had the willpower to ignore my initial fear and instill a fraction of trust into the one that saved me. Other dragons would probably have acted as I had, but instead of roaring in his face, venting all of the frustration of being belittled, they simply would have bitten his head off.

But not me.

And that goes both ways, I suppose.

Any of the other _things_ – what else could I call them? They certainly aren't people, seeing as the only people I know are of my own species and the only human I know by my definition is my rider – would have simply plunged their knife through my chest cavity and silenced me.

But not him.

Our isolation has brought us closer. He's spoken to me of his past loneliness before knowing me, before all of this. He was alone, though their pathetic village that I have come to think of as home – second only to the valley that has become a safe haven to myself and my human – were all around him. They didn't see him the way I do. And they didn't see me the way he does.

And thus we are different.

It took me a very long time to decide if I liked being different.

My race is the rarest, more than one or two Night Furies living within one hundred miles of each other being almost unheard of, and so I have been isolated. Other dragons either fear or ignore me, and I do not like any of them. Which suited me just fine. But this different – this was a whole other feeling. A whole other situation.

This different betrayed everything I was. And I am okay with that now.

There. Grass. I can smell that it is soft and close to death. As I land, I crouch so as to not disturb the one on my back – the one that is my entire world now – and hope that somehow he'll be okay. I can feel him shaking and I wonder if his eyes are still closed and if they are wet or dry. I hope it's the latter. I don't enjoy it when my human is upset.

His voice. "Toothless," he says as he slides out of what he calls my saddle. My ears twitch as both of his feet hit the ground. The sound is dulled by the grass and dirt, but I can still hear the difference. His different foot does not bother me, but it bothers him, and that bothers me. I twitch my tail and only feel the grass on my right fin. Yes, we are indeed isolated, but we are isolated together. Our sameness, now in both my _and _body, have made us inseparable.

He scratches the top of my head, and I lean into the touch. I want him happy again, and that scratching feels nice.

He sits in the grass and I lay beside him, my side and tail wrapping around him so he leans into my side. We both stare out at the clouds and the grass. A deep melancholy rings through me. I am happy right here. I don't think ahead, because thinking ahead gets you killed. Dragons live in the present. It's how we survive. Live day by day, night by night.

But my human, this soft, vulnerable boy leaning against me, is thinking ahead. I can tell. He gets that look in his eyes. I stare at him, and he finally looks back, just realizing I have been looking. He can be quite slow at times. I cock my head to the side in a silent question, my large ears drooping to the left. He lets out a breath then turns, his side now on mine. He leans the side of his head against my shoulder.

"I don't know what to do, buddy," he says. I let a low rumble escape me, encouraging him to talk. He does so. "Those Vikings are gonna come, and they're gonna freak out once they see all of you, and I don't want anyone to get hurt, and…" he drifts off. I watch and wait. "I can't ask you to leave, but at the same time…"

Anger. My eyes widen as I realize what he is implying. My teeth slide out and I bare my teeth, growling. It has been a while since I have growled at him. My entire body shakes as I growl deeply, a threat. There is no way I am leaving him to the mercy of any others. They had almost gotten him killed in that…that cage. Those things had almost gotten him killed. I won't stand for it.

He obviously knows what I am angry about. He reaches down and scratches my head again, fingers scratching around the pointed scales on the crest of my forehead. "I know you won't leave," he says with a sigh. I snorted and nodded. Damn right.

"I just hope my dad knows what to do in the long run," he says, leaning back against me again.

I snort. I still don't care for his father much. After he pinned me down and forced me into all of those bindings and made me take them to our nest, I think it's understandable that I dislike him. But I feel my thoughts drifting to the aftermath of that horrid trip back after killing the Mother, and I let an unbidden and uncharacteristic whine run through me. I don't have a name for the images are in my head when I sleep, but it's all in blurs and it's always things I've seen. But I've been seeing that same thing, over and over and over. I hear him shout as we fall, the fin that usually kept us stable and connected falling away. I feel my side hit the tail of the Mother and his yells are silenced. I see him falling into the flames; I taste blood and charred flesh in my mouth as my teeth clamp down on his…

I jolt myself out of the thought with a hiss. My human rubs my side, thinking I was still distressed over the same thing he was.

Not even close.

We sat like that for a while, both lost to our own thoughts and becoming slowly relaxed by the other's company. I appreciate the fact that my human is so easy to read. His breathing, his posture, his outward appearance all change on a whim, depending on his mood. But I can't really talk. I'm more expressive than he is most of the time. Again, something I didn't do before I met him.

Sound. Flapping. I look up and see four dragons circling around one of the cliffs. I exhale through my nose. Now that the village was used to us, I didn't really appreciate how little time my human and I got to spend together. I knew he felt the same way most of the time.

My eyes close in on the girl's face, and the hiss that I was all too ready to let forth died in my throat. The others were not trusted, but she was different. She was the help. My human liked her, and so I liked her. She helps him with his foot when I cannot, she helps when he needs a human response, and she helped in the aftermath, and so I appreciated her. Her past apology helped too. She cares for my human, and she cares for me. And so I care for her.

As they land, I curl my tail around my human and give a silent snarl. My posture is relaxed, but I was giving a clear warning. My boy put his hand on my nose, a pleasant and comforting gesture, and I feel my anger lower. He stands, and I sit up, my tail still curled around him in a circle at his feet, letting him know he wasn't allowed to move. He doesn't attempt to.

I fix my eyes on the help, and she looks back at me with a steely determination. I wait for her to lower her gaze. She does. I let out a small purr, letting her know she has my thanks. I could see the concern in her eyes. Concern for my human. Again I am reminded of her kindness and again I am reminded that I like her. It is hard to get past the initial feeling of distrust of them.

The others stay back as the female approaches. Her Nadder fixed her wide-eyed gaze on me, but I ignore her. Nuisance. The other dragons keep their distance, especially the Nightmare. It was the same one that tried to kill my human. I snarl at him, and he lowers his head. The boy on his back makes a noise of anger but I ignore it. The other two dragons do not look at me.

Nothing happens for quite some time. Then the help speaks.

"Hiccup?"

I enjoyed the sound of her voice speaking my human's name.

I watch, and I wait, ever-aware.

---

As always, reviews are appreciated, as I love constructive criticism. I love to hear what you guys think, and I'm always open for advice on how to improve. Every review makes me smile. :D

I love writing Toothless. Writing inhuman characters is always fun for me, because it's such a different writing style. A reviewer pointed out that his characterization might not be as inquisitive as it is in the movie, which I totally agree with, and for that I'm sorry. I'm still trying to get a handle on him, and I'm sorry if you feel he's too awkward. He's the most fun to write for me, but he's also the biggest challenge. Keep in mind that he's also not extremely playful in this chapter because, for the most part, his mood relies on Hiccup's mood, and because Hiccup is down, it seemed to me that he would be as well. Whoo for pensive Toothless!

I talk too much, don't I?


	6. Chapter 6

I'm really excited. I've gotten myself out of that funk I was in, and so hopefully my writing is back to normal in this chapter. This one is also much longer than my previous ones, as I said it would be in chapter 5.

All credit for Bluebell goes to Enchantable. She gave me PERMISSION to use her, and unless you have gotten permission from Enchantable to use her, do not do so.

How To Train your Dragon does not belong to me.

---

Hiccup didn't know what to think. He was sick of thinking, sick of all of this. And it had only been about a half an hour since they had seen those ships. It was ridiculous.

As Toothless shifted his gaze from me to the sky, he knew they were there. He knew it wouldn't be long before Astrid would come to find him, and the others were bound to follow her. But while he was looking forward to seeing Astrid – and he couldn't help but admit to himself that her looking for him made him happy for the attention from her – he wasn't sure it he liked the fact that the other four were here. But he looked up at the sky and watched them land, face blank.

Toothless immediately rose to his defense. Hissing and curling around him, the dragon was making it pretty obvious Hiccup didn't want company. Hiccup didn't try to calm him.

Hiccup ran a hand through his shaggy hair and stood, Toothless still serving as a sort of barrier. Even through his depressed fog, Hiccup still felt himself analyzing the five teens and their dragons. Ruff and Tuff were getting better at dismounting, but it looked like it was due to more cooperation from their Zippleback. Snotlout and Fishlegs still needed to work on their dismount, but he could tell the brunette Viking had been practicing more often; he and his Nightmare were already accustomed to one another. He took his eyes off of them and returned them to Astrid as she spoke his name.

"Hey," he said, not quite sure how to start the conversation. He was overcome by the familiar feeling of awkwardness, though he admittedly had been feeling it less and less recently. He didn't want to tell them what his dad had said. He wanted them to hear it from him. But he had to tell them something.

Toothless made his familiar deep rumbling sound that was a cross between a cat's purr and gurgling water. Trust his dragon to be the constant source of comfort. He nudged his nose against Hiccup's elbow and rubbed his side, his nose nuzzling right above his hip. He smiled down at his and scratched his nose in thanks before turning back to the others. Okay.

"I know you want answers, and I know you're wondering why Toothless and I took off," he said, looking to each of them in turn before fixing his gaze on Astrid. "But I can't tell you." Each of them made noises of disagreement and frustration, but were silenced a second later by a growl from Toothless. He was making it clear that arguing right now wasn't going to happen. "I'm sure Astrid told you that my dad is gonna tell everyone later, and she's right. You'll just have to wait."

"Will you at least tell us why you and Toothless stormed off then?" Ruffnut asked, arms crossed over her chest. Her Zippleback head was perched inches above her shoulder, watching Hiccup intently.

"I…wasn't too pleased by the decision my dad came to," he said, careful of the way he spoke. He shifted his weight to his good leg and ran a hand through his hair. "There's gonna be a lot of activity tonight."

Tuffnut opened his mouth to inquire further, but was silenced by Ruffnut's foot being planted firmly on his own. He frowned over at her and she frowned at him in return. Astrid stepped closer and put her hand on Hiccup's shoulder gently. Toothless watched her closely, eyes brightening. He leaned forward, mouth opening slightly, revealing pink gums in his small interpretation of a smile. Astrid grinned and patted his nose, earning a purr from the black dragon. She smiled down at him before turning to Hiccup. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

Hiccup winced. That meant they had seen his actions before he and Toothless had taken off. He had hoped that they weren't watching his emotional outburst outside of his house, but he supposed that was hoping for too much. None of the others reacted, but simply watched. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was surprised at how quiet they were being. With Fishlegs it wasn't a huge surprise, but for the twins and Snotlout to be simply listening was indeed a rare occasion.

He brought his attention back to Astrid, a hundred thoughts flying through his mind and a hundred emotions flowing through his chest.

"I'm fine," he replied simply. She gave him a look that she seemed to reserve only for him. That look that clearly said 'I'm not an idiot, and I'll be standing here until you think of a better answer.' He sighed, something he seemed to be doing a lot today, and said, "I'm actually feeling better. I'm not looking forward to tonight, though."

She nodded, understanding.

Hiccup looked around at the others and their dragons, who were perched comfortably behind their respective riders, and smiled. "Thanks guys. For, you know, looking for me."

Snotlout snorted. "It's not like we were just gonna let you fly off like that," he said, as if it were obvious.

"Seriously," Fishlegs added.

Hiccup was once again struck by the sheer oddity of the scene. The group of Vikings that had, in all respects, thought he was completely useless two months ago, were now following him around to make sure he was alright. He never would have thought anything close to this would have happened. He knew the main reason of the groups newfound closeness, for lack of a better term, was due to the dragons and that final battle they had together. They all had to unite under Hiccup's leadership, and, in doing so, had involuntarily become closer.

"Do you want to fly back?" Astrid interrupted his thoughts gently, voice still soft. Hiccup felt a jolt of annoyance but quickly smothered it. He appreciated Astrid's concern, but she was almost babying him at this point. Even if he was upset, he was still a Viking, and he didn't appreciate the excessive gentleness of her inquiry. But he didn't vocalize any of this, and instead stood taller and nodded. He didn't want to talk about himself anymore. Sometimes he liked to be alone with his emotions, and by alone he meant either really alone or with Toothless.

"We need to get back before sundown," he said, green eyes scanning the horizon. The sun was sinking pretty quickly, the temperature was beginning to drop enough to give him gooseflesh occasionally. He looked back at the group once more, then looked at their dragons. "You guys seem to really be getting along with your dragons well," he said, expression lightening.

He felt the entire emotion of the group shift. Every face lit up and they each looked to their own dragon, confirming Hiccup's assumption. Toothless finally shifted and relaxed his posture, sensing the much lighter emotion flowing through the group. He sat next to Hiccup, ears forward as he watched each of the dragons as well.

Snotlout's Nightmare looked at Toothless, however, and the black dragon let out a low growl, teeth slightly bared. Snotlout frowned over at him while Hiccup rubbed his neck. "He's still pretty mad about the cage fight," Hiccup explained. The Nightmare had almost killed Hiccup and probably would have if Toothless hadn't showed up when he did. Snotlout nodded but still looked rather bothered that Toothless was acting so negatively to his dragon. "Besides, Toothless doesn't much like other dragons anyway," Hiccup said with a chuckle. Said dragon snorted in affirmation, giving the Nightmare another dirty look before looking away. The Nightmare lowered his head and let out a small grumble before laying down, head in the grass. Snotlout scratched behind his horn before looking up, expression bright.

"Hey! We all have names for our dragons! Well, except Fishlegs," he said, looking over at him. Fishlegs frowned at the grass. Hiccup smiled as well.

"Lemme hear them!"

"Well, you two go first," Snotlout said to the twins. Ruffnut and Tuffnut both stared at him for a second, both of them with and identical mixture of bemused and annoyed expressions, before turning to Hiccup.

"Mine's name is Zipper, cause he's awesome," Tuffnut said with a smug grin. Ruffnut rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and the moron named my boy as well," she said. "His name is Sparky."

"But isn't-" Hiccup started, but was interrupted.

"Yeah, he's the gas-breathing one. I know. But he liked the name, and Tuffnut's an idiot," she said with a sneer towards her brother. Tuffnut sneered back in an imitation of her before looking away with a scowl.

Astrid was scratching Bluebell's nose when they all looked at her. "What?" she asked, looking bothered.

"Did you name yours?" Fishlegs asked. Astrid nodded.

"Bluebell." She murmured before turning back to her Nadder, body language firmly expressing her desire to not talk about her reasons. The twins both had cocked eyebrows, but they didn't comment. Snotlout opened his mouth, clearly about to compliment on how a gorgeous name that was and how _so Astrid _it was, but Tuffnut waved his hand in front of his face.

"Yeah yeah, we know. Tell us the name of your Nightmare already."

"His name is…are you ready? Frenzyflame!" He said, arms held out as if displaying his Nightmare for the first time. Said dragon let out a small sneeze and licked its nose, looking over at his rider with half-lidded eyes. The twins both snorted and chuckled, looking at the Nightmare with raised eyebrows. Snotlout crossed his arms over his chest.

"You don't like it? Tough! It's an awesome name!" He said, patting his Nightmare's nose. Frenzyflame sniffled then grinned at his human. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"I like it," he said. "It suits a Nightmare."

"How about Murphy?" Fishlegs said abruptly. The group turned to the blonde, all confused. "For my dragon's name. After my uncle," he explained. Hiccup looked at the Gronckle, who was scratching its chin with its back leg, and grinned.

"I think it works," he said. The twins and Snotlout shrugged noncommittally.

"You guys think we should probably go now?" Astrid said. Toothless shoved his nose against the small of Hiccup's back, supporting this idea. Hiccup nodded, surprised at how much better he felt.

"Yeah, let's go. My dad should be talking to the village soon," he said. Once the words escaped his mouth, though, that sinking feeling returned. He frowned, but turned away from the group as he climbed onto Toothless' back, not wanting them to see. Once he was settled in the saddle, he looked around and saw all of the others were ready to go. Hiccup nodded to himself, and Toothless took this as an invite to take off.

The moment the two surged into the air, Hiccup left his worries on the ground next to that cliff face. He grinned into the wind and Toothless turned his head to see if his rider was as happy as he was. Pleased by Hiccup's clear pleasure, he flew higher and slower, letting the wind caress them.

The rest of the flight back was not as relaxing as Hiccup would have hoped, however. Ruffnut and Tuffnut got into a fight about only the Gods knew what, and their poor dragon's heads were jerked around as the twins tried in vain to exchange blows. Both heads kept the twins apart and looked almost embarrassed to have the bickering twins as riders, something that was exceedingly amusing. Zipper and Sparky were perfect for them. Snotlout was happily flying atop Frenzyflame, who looked more than content to stay away from the bickering twins. Fishlegs was sitting hunched over in Murphy's saddle, looking pleased and nervous at the same time. Hiccup thought he'd be nervous riding a Gronckle too, seeing as how round they were; he'd be afraid of it falling. But Murphy seemed to be enjoying himself, his large eyes half-lidded as he flew.

Toothless and Bluebell, however, were not as comfortable. Hiccup could feel Toothless' growing agitation at flying so close to the female dragon, and Bluebell looked just as unhappy. Astrid was patting her neck and whispering words to her, looking concerned. Hiccup looked down at Toothless as well. "C'mon buddy, she's not doing anything to you," he said. He snorted, then shifted his flight path and flapped his wing right in Bluebell's face. Hiccup quickly altered the position of his fin, sending him banking to the left and away from Bluebell. "What was that about?" He asked, but Toothless gave a noncommittal grunt.

Before the two dragons could get any angrier at one another, they reached the center of the village. They landed, Hiccup dismounting first as he looked up at the sky. The sun was nearly set. The ships would be here soon.

As the others dismounted, several Vikings walked by. "Ye should head to the plaza now," one woman said in passing. "Stoick said he has an urgent announcement to give."

"Yeah, I know," Hiccup grumbled, that familiar heavy sinking feeling in his stomach reappearing. He looked around at the others, then at the numerous dragons perched on rooftops and munching on fish held in the basin in the center of the inner square. He exhaled firmly through his nose before turning to Toothless. The black dragon gave a high pitched grumble that Hiccup had come to interpret as a whine.

"I know, buddy," he said, then began to walk forward. The others followed, as well as Frenzyflame and Bluebell. Sparky, Zipper, and Murphy moved to the fish basin, chirruping and grumbling at some of the other dragons there. Astrid's hand was on Bluebell's nose horn, holding her head low as she walked. Toothless' own head was held low as well, eyes darting around and tail swaying from side to side as they approached the crowded plaza in front of the dragon arena. The Vikings cleared a path as Hiccup approached with Toothless, moving aside to fit the dragon as they walked toward the side of the platform his dad would be speaking from. It was accustomed for the chief's son to be diagonal from the platform that the chief spoke on, and seeing as Hiccup didn't go anywhere without Toothless, not many had any qualms about moving out of the way for him. Astrid and the others walked around the back, not wanting to walk through the crowd with Bluebell and Frenzyflame. They came to a halt behind Hiccup, the other Vikings clearing a small path for them anyway because they knew they would want to be near him.

They all stood and waited.

The sun was about a full sun's length away from being submerged by the sea when Stoick the Vast walked onto the platform. The talking Vikings ceased doing so, knowing that the chief demanded silence. Stoick stood tall and straight, but his eyes, which had been sweeping over the crowd, focused in on Hiccup. Hiccup stared back, expression neutral. Toothless flattened his ears but made no noise, knowing better than to make a sound. Hiccup felt all eyes zoom in on him, but he stared resolutely at his father until Stoick looked away. He felt his shoulders slump the second his father's gaze shifted.

"My son came to me earlier today with news. He and Astrid were flying their dragons earlier this evening when they spotted something on the horizon," he said loudly, booming voice travelling through the entire village. Hiccup was momentarily struck at the oddness of his father speaking about Astrid. For some reason he felt that she would be announced as something else; just Astrid seemed too informal for some reason. He wanted to see Astrid's reaction to it, but he didn't know where she was. Two seconds later, however, he felt a hand firmly grasp his, making him jump. Well, she knew where she was now. He smiled slightly and squeezed back, happy for the comfort.

Stoick paused, then clasped his hands in front of him. The crowd of Vikings was silent. They could tell something was wrong.

"There are ships sailing for Berk, and they should be here within an hour."

There were two seconds of silence, then the plaza exploded in an onslaught of speech. Some were shouting questions up at Stoick, while others were talking quickly to those next to them. Hiccup heard the others behind them gasp then begin speaking to one another as well. Snotlout's voice was the loudest, proclaiming what he was afraid was gonna happen, which were not far from Hiccup's own fears. He looked up at the front of the crowd and spotted Gobber looking at him with raised eyebrows. Hiccup gave him a pained look, then lowered his gaze. Astrid's grip on his hand tightened, and he returned the gesture.

Stoick held up a hand and the din died down within a reasonable amount of time. "We don't know why they've come, but it must be important. We all know no one sails at the brink of winter, and that's where we are now."

"What about the dragons?!"Someone shouted from the crowd. Almost everyone's heads swiveled in the direction of the voice, but Hiccup's eyes were firmly pinned on his father. Stoick licked his lips before answering.

"When Hiccup told me of the approaching ships, he insisted that we hide the dragons. I insisted that we not. After thinking long and hard about it, I've decided we'll do a bit of both."

There was murmuring, and Astrid looked over at Hiccup with raised eyebrows. Hiccup himself was surprised. What did that mean?

"The dragons that are the most familiar with people are the ones we kept in the arena. They are also the ones being ridden by the six children that defeated the Red Death a little over a month ago. It is these dragons that will stay behind. The rest will be ushered, with care, into the woods. They are more than capable of finding a few good places to stay for a while."

Toothless let out a short growl which attracted the attention of the few surrounding Vikings. Stoick hadn't mentioned him specifically, and he wanted there to be no doubt that he was staying. Hiccup put his hand on the dragon's head, the pit in his stomach slowly dissipating. If it was just going to be the five dragons, it would be much easier to keep the coming Vikings from panicking and attacking. Stoick looked over at Toothless and Hiccup for a fraction of a second before continuing.

"Toothless, Astrid's Deadly Nadder, Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare, Ruffnut and Tuffnut's Hideous Zippleback, and Fishlegs' Gronckle will be staying in the village. The rest of the dragons need to be ushered into the forest. We have to move fast; we'll have to welcome the ships soon." Toothless gave a pleased noise and rubbed his nose against Hiccup's side, as if to say 'see? He said I could stay.' Hiccup patted his nose, smiling despite himself.

"How do we know they're not here to attack?" someone called.

"Because Geir the Patient spotted them about ten minutes ago, and they're flying a white flag," Stoick said. "We don't have much time now. Those with dragons are going to fly around the Eastern bank and lead the others into the woods."

"How are we going to get them to stay?" Fishlegs said quietly. His question went unanswered.

"C'mon, we have to go," Hiccup said, patting Toothless' nose again. He was beginning to feel steadily more optimistic. This plan was much better than what he had been afraid his father would try to do. There was still a slight risk because their dragons would be here, but it was much better than these ships threatening all of the dragons of Berk. Astrid let go of his hand as more people began to spread out, some approaching Hiccup. Toothless shifted his body so the people couldn't get between him and Hiccup and Hiccup climbed into his saddle.

"Ruff, Tuff, get a net and gather up some food. Have your dragon hold it high, and hopefully that'll bring the dragons to follow us." The twins nodded then both sprinted off towards their Zippleback, Ruffnut shouting "I'll get the net!" and Tuffnut shoving her, retorting with, "No, _I'll _get the net!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes before turning to the other two. "Snotlout and Fishlegs, try and herd them from the back. Make sure they follow us and stay close." Snotlout and Fishlegs both nodded, Fishlegs following the twins into the square to the basin that held the fish. Snotlout climbed onto Frenzy's saddle quickly and the Nightmare jumped into the air. "Astrid, you and me are gonna lead. If some of the dragons break loose of what I'm hoping will be a herd, you and I are gonna be responsible for getting them back into formation. And we have to make sure to stay out of the line of sight on the Western shoreline." She nodded, eyes determined. Hiccup sort of felt bad for dishing out orders, but ever since the battle with the Red Death, whenever there was a time for command, they immediately looked to Hiccup.

"Come on, bud," he said to Toothless, patting his neck, and the dragon jumped in to the air and darted away from the plaza. Hiccup looked back at his father, who was watching him, and gave him a small smile. He returned it.

"Alright," Hiccup said, turning forward with determination. "We have to do this fast." Toothless nodded and flapped once, pushing them into a faster glide so they reached the center square within seconds.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were just finishing hoisting the net full of fish. Zipper and Sparky were both looking determined, and the twins seemed to be getting the same vibes from their dragon, because they, for once, weren't bickering. Hiccup looked around and, sure enough, almost all of the Nadders and Gronckles were watching the net lift with wide eyes, clearly not liking that their food was being taken away. Zipper and Sparky flapped their wings, heaving the heavy thing into the air. Immediately all of the Nadders, Gronckles, Terrors, and Zipplebacks in the vicinity were staring hungrily at the net. Snotlout was flying near the edge of the village, pushing the other dragons close, which consisted of a few Zipplebacks, a Gronckle, and three Nightmares. Fishlegs appeared from around the other edge, his Gronckle ushering two Nadders forward to join in the fray.

A flash of blue next to him, and Astrid and Bluebell were at his side, waiting. "Okay, let's go!" Hiccup shouted, and Toothless lurched forward. Zipper and Sparky flapped their wings harder, the net creaking from the added weight. But the momentum of the swing of the bag made the dragon lurch forward, and they were soon flying towards the trees. Toothless surged to the front, Astrid to his left a little behind him, and at least thirty dragons trailing behind the Twins and their Zippleback. They heard shouting from Snotlout and Fishlegs as they urged the dragons into a closer group. So far, so good.

Toothless, ears shifting, turned his wings and Hiccup adjusted his fin appropriately. A Nadder had tried to break formation to go back to the village. Toothless roared and cut it off, and the Nadder swerved back into the group with an unhappy squawk, clearly afraid of the Night Fury.

"Fishlegs! Can you go to the left of the group?" he shouted. Fishlegs nodded and his dragon immediately darted over just as a small group of Terrors tried to make a break for it. Toothless pushed another Nadder back in line as Astrid darted forward, keeping a Zippleback in check.

"Uh, guys!" Ruffnut shouted. Hiccup and Toothless flew over quickly, flying abreast with the Zippleback. Before she even spoke, he knew what Ruffnut was going to say. "He's having a hard time carrying all of this now. And on top of us sitting on their necks…" she said, scratching behind Sparky's jaw. He let out a small whine, and Hiccup saw a thin line of blood running from his mouth.

"Astrid!" he shouted. Toothless was better at herding them, as he was the quickest and most lithe. Besides the fact that all of the other dragons were afraid of him. Bluebell's jaw was much larger than Toothless' as well, making her the best choice. "I need to you help these guys carry this! Toothless and I will take care of keeping them in check!" he shouted over the din of squawking dragons. She nodded quickly and Bluebell surged forward, grabbing the side closest to Sparky to ease the weight off of his side. He made a noise of gratitude and Bluebell gave a short call back.

Toothless immediately darted around and contained a few more dragons. They were about fifty feet until they entered the woods, and once they got there it would be much harder to keep them together. But they didn't have to go very far into the woods.

Toothless was constantly moving from right to left, over and under, keeping them in a slightly panicked tight group. They din of the dragons was getting ever louder, but the group pressed on, Snotlout always at the rear with Frenzy letting loose uncharacteristic snarls at any dragons that lagged behind. Fishlegs and Murphy were fluttering around, the Gronckle snapping at the heels of the dragons and keeping them from escaping until Toothless arrived to push them back in line. It was slower than Hiccup would have originally thought, but soon they were passing the tree line.

The group immediately tried to split in two. Toothless let out a loud roar, swiping at the dragons. It worked for most of them, but some were too pissed to care. They snarled and snapped back, sick of being pushed around by the Night Fury. Toothless snapped at them, and even Hiccup shouted, trying to get them back. If any of them made it back to the village, the entire group would break and go back.

Hiccup abruptly became aware of the orange glow of the forest; they only had about twenty minutes of sunlight left. Toothless swept to the back of the group, smacking some of the dragons with his wings on the way, and flapped, flaying out his wings so as to look as large as possible. Teeth bared, eyes blazing, and large wings silhouetted by the fiery sunset, Toothless really did look like the evil offspring of Lightning and Death. The dragons' eyes widened in fear, and they began a crazed sort of flapping, trying to escape the black dragon's fury by retreating into the forest. At the same moment, Bluebell, Zipper and Sparky dropped the net full of fish, then did the same thing, circling them and flapping and shrieking, ushering them into the woods. The dragons finally gave in, scooping up some fish frantically then flying into the trees as fast as their wings could carry them.

Toothless stopped shrieking and slowed his flapping until he was flapping steadily about ten feet above the ground. Hiccup suddenly became aware of his and Toothless' labored breathing. Both of them heaving for breath, they dropped easily to the ground. Toothless lowered his wings, exhaled smoke, then turned back to Hiccup, eyes looking guilty for some reason. Nervous. Did the dragon think that he would scare Hiccup away?

"You were awesome buddy," Hiccup assured between breaths. "I'm still here after you screamed in my face, aren't I? Nothing will scare me more than that did, don't worry," he said with a chuckle.

Astrid landed a few seconds later, staring at them with an odd expression. Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, then looked around at the others. They were staring at Hiccup and Toothless as well. "What?" Hiccup had to ask.

"Well, we're so used to Toothless being, well, Toothless," Tuffnut said, staring. Ruffnut's expression mirrored his.

"He's usually such a goofball that we forget he's a dragon sometimes," Ruffnut elaborated, earning a snort from said dragon.

"I think it's that we forget that Toothless is a Night Fury," Astrid said, hands on Bluebell's reins. The others nodded. Even the other dragons, who hadn't had to face Toothless' wrath (excluding Frenzy, of course), looked a bit uncomfortable. Toothless' ears swiveled forward and he let his wings fall, trying his best to look as unintimidating as possible. Hiccup laughed lightly, scratching behind his hear. He leaned his head back, that familiar look of pleasure lightly up his face as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

Hiccup ceased the scratching and patted the dragon's neck with a grin. "I forget all the time, too," he said. Toothless shook his head and tapped his tail against the ground, looking back at Hiccup with an unreadable expression.

Hiccup looked to the trees. "I hope they won't think we've permanently kicked them out," Hiccup said. Toothless grunted and shook his wings and head, a movement Hiccup interpreted as a 'don't worry, we'll figure it out later.' Hiccup gave a lop-sided grin and scratched the patch of scales between the saddle and Toothless' skull in gratitude.

"We should get back," Snotlout said, still in Frenzy's saddle. Hiccup looked up from Toothless and nodded. They didn't have much time and they wanted to try and at least have some time to try and strategically place the dragons.

"What are we going to do about these guys?" Fishlegs asked, looking around at the five dragons.

"Well, I'm going to have Toothless with me, whether it's my choice or not," Hiccup said. Toothless snorted and smacked his tail against the ground before the brunette continued. "And I don't want them just flying around. It's like saying 'Hey, welcome to Berk! The prime spot for target practice 24/7!' Not good," Hiccup said, rumpling his hair in thought. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen," she said, pursing her lips at him in a very un-Astrid fashion. Hiccup was tempted to stick his tongue out at her but smothered the urge.

"We can have them in the middle of the plaza," Ruffnut said. "That way they'll be together, and the Vikings won't be tempted to do anything stupid," she added. Tuffnut snorted.

"Yeah, good luck with that working."

"No one asked you, idiot," Ruffnut scowled back. Hiccup raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and intervened.

"C'mon guys. The sun's almost set. And flying in as they dock is probably not a good idea," he said, turning and looking back at the forest. Not a dragon in sight. Good.

"Then let's go!" Snotlout said, and Frenzy jumped up into the air with a snort. Sparky and Zipper followed, both grinning as they rose. Fishlegs, Astrid and Hiccup all followed, Toothless darting ahead. Hiccup just hoped they hadn't already docked.

Two minutes of flying later answered his worries. Hiccup had the others fly low, just to be safe, while he and Toothless darted up to the watchtower and hid behind it, watching. Sure enough, as Toothless peaked around the side of the tower, the first ship's hull glided into the dock. Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, and he felt Toothless exhale heavily beneath him.

This was gonna suck.

---

Whoo! We're finally getting into the plot! :D

As always, reviews are appreciated, as I love constructive criticism. Please, please, please review! Even if it's negative stuff, I live for your guy's comments! I'm nearing the end of the semester and finals are right around the corner, so the next update will probably take a while to come out, but your reviews will make it that much quicker, I promise! It takes less than a minute to write a more that satisfying review, and every review makes me smile. :D

I know many people suggested that I keep Firewyrm and Horrorcow as the names of Snotlout's and Fishleg's dragons, but I didn't really want to, since those are names from the book and I like using my own names. I know Murphy isn't a dragon-y name, but it's the name of one of my friend's old dogs who was fat and lazy. I couldn't resist. xD

I also know I referred to the dragon they defeated as the Green Death earlier, but apparently in the movie it's called the Red Death (Even though it isn't red, but whatever).


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